The Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant, a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters, has completed the preparation of a fuselage assembly line for the Ka-226T light helicopter. The line has produced two fuselages, which at the end of November will be transferred to JSC Technodinamika for testing of an accident-resistant fuel system.

During a visit to the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant, the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov was acquainted with the assembly line of the Ka-226T helicopter. Until the end of 2020, U-UAZ will assemble a number of stands and Ka-226T assemblies for static, dynamic and life tests. In particular, the production of a test bench for bird resistance and a test bench for windshield cleaning systems is currently being completed.

“Now we are focused on the manufacture of fuselages and machine units for various tests, but at the same time we are working on the creation of prototypes of the Ka-226T helicopter, which we expect to fly in the first half of 2021,” explains U-UAZ MD Leonid Belykh.

To date, the enterprise has already manufactured thousands of items of equipment, from small templates to large-size assembly slipways. In September, a slipway for the general fuselage assembly of the Ka-226T helicopter was manufactured and installed, into which already manufactured units, including the cockpit bottom, middle and central fuselage compartments, tail booms and tail assembly, are laid.

A complete set of design documentation, taking into account all the requirements of a potential customer, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of India, is currently being transferred to the plant, and this process will be completed by the end of the year.

The Ka-226T light multi-purpose helicopter with a twin-rotor coaxial carrier system has a maximum take-off weight of 3.6 tonnes and is capable of carrying up to one tonne of payload. The type became the first aircraft in the Russian helicopter industry to undergo development entirely in virtual space without the use of paper media. This makes it possible to significantly reduce risks and costs, both during the development of the helicopter itself and when making changes during any subsequent modernisation.